Forget crypto—the latest online currency craze is dabloons

• TikTokers have created an entire underground economy based on a fake currency called 'dabloons.'
• Dabloons work on an honor system and can be used to purchase imaginary goods like food and housing.

TikTokers have built a sprawling, collective economy upon an imaginary currency — dabloons — on the app over the last few weeks.

Dabloons, like the historical Spanish currency "doubloon," can be traded for commodities such as (also, imaginary) shelter, food, and apparel. The dabloon economy — which, again, we must stress, is entirely fake and for fun — appears to be run by a clowder of cats. Currently, #dabloons has 1.2 billion views.

Typically, TikTokers earn dabloons by bumping into the mystical and all-powerful "4 dabloons cat" — a black cat typically shown with the text "Hello traveler" and an offer of a certain number of dabloons — on their For You Page. (TikTokers can find the cat by searching in the app, but the practice is frowned upon as cheating). Otherwise, dabloons are earned by trading imaginary goods or services for the currency unless a user wins a lottery or gets lucky at the dabloons casino. There's nowhere on TikTok to save or track your dabloons so dabloon collectors are expected to use the honor system.

According to Know Your Meme, the Dabloons cat was first spotted on Instagram in 2021, where "dabloons" were used as a reference to cat toes.

Often, the imagery resembles a medieval video game, and weary "travelers" tend to be offered things like a cup of soup or an invisibility potion.

In other words, the TikTok dabloons economy has the flavor of a Renaissance Faire in the metaverse, a mass live-action-role-play (LARP) that could make even the most jaded economists smile.

Some TikTokers take an informal approach to their accounting — keeping track of their dabloons in their head — while others prefer to use their notes app or spreadsheet. (No widely accepted central banking system has been established among dabloon-ers, as yet).

As more TikTokers earn and spend dabloons, the community has been forced to create new organizing infrastructure. Some users have reported experiencing dabloons debt, leading to dabloons debt relief initiatives. A dabloons FBI was established to investigate wrongdoing, and a dabloons IRS to collect taxes based on a user's income.

Even in an imaginary world, real-world concerns persist. As more TikTokers have begun using the currency, its users have lamented rampant inflation, with a cup of soup going from four dabloons to 16 — a 300% increase — in only a few short weeks. Some have called for users to cap their dabloons payments at 100 dabloons until the economy stabilizes, though free market critics of the new 100-dabloons law have called it "hypocritical."

There's also class consciousness, with some TikTokers preferring to give away excess dabloons. "Spent all night finding out what dabloons are," @rach_in_recovery told viewers. "I have 6,000 dabloons but don't want to be in high-class dabloon society, so here are 300 dabloons. Treat yourself to something nice."

Unfortunately, TikTokers have also reported rising mental theft, as economic pressures and a lack of regulation leaves users vulnerable to bad actors.

"Sometimes it'll be like a video on your For You Page," TikToker @sparklyfruitman told viewers on November 22. "And it'll look all innocent. It'll be like, 'hey traveler,' and the next slide is like: 'you've been robbed.' I've been robbed a couple of times." To protect viewers from the digital highway robbers, there's an immunity potion and dabloons insurance.

As TikTokers' real world is rocked with layoffs, recession fears, and inflation that can drive prices up on basics like food, users are bringing those concerns into the app and developing an imaginary world that parodies their reality.

But, as many TikTokers will tell you, playing with dabloons online is just for fun.

For many, the best side of TikTok is the one where the volcanic faultlines from which pure meme-culture springs exist. The collective, lighthearted play is a value for some users, one that may drive an animator to devote his weekends to building a 3,000-pound sarcophagus for a bag of chips or a 25-year-old to livestream his sleeping three times per week "for the bit."

Dabloons are similar.

"Anyways, it's just like a fun game to pass the time," @sparklyfruitman explained. "It's not a real currency. It's literally just for fun."

"People really like the idea of being able to influence this little micro-economy," 26-year-old dabloon collector Alexis Bishop told The New York Times in late November. "It feels like they're able to be a part of it in a way that's way less stressful than real money."

Email tips on all things internet to mleighton@insider.com.